Must add curly fries… Lamb Weston has been cooking up success as Americans feast on french fries, no matter the economic weather. Last quarter the potato powerhouse hit a record $1.3B in sales and raised its annual forecast as fry demand sizzled. FYI: LW makes $$ both from grocery-store frozen aisles and from restaurants (think: corporate customers like McDonald’s and KFC parent Yum Brands). But even as dining out declines, LW says its “fry-attachment rate” is still above prepandemic levels as people keep adding fries to their orders.
Eggstra-pricey Easter… Big Egg’s big holiday is upon us, but you might wanna stick to chocolate. Cal-Maine, America’s largest egg producer, reported an 8X quarterly profit jump as prices yolked up. The average price of a dozen was $4 in February (up from $2 a year earlier), adding merit to those “eggs as a symbol of wealth” memes. Supply is at a three-year low as the industry deals with the avian flu (though Cal-Maine said its chickens weren’t affected). Americans are expected to spend a record $24B on Easter this year, including $7.3B on food.